Major budget cuts could have ramifications for all US military branches in the years to come.

Due to increased scrutiny and frustration, the U.S. federal government is shifting monetary budgets with procurement and research and development projects likely receiving a $66 billion cut if spending caps aren’t adjusted.

The current five-year spending plan is more than $115 billion above mandated defense-spending caps, which could have major ramifications. The budget cuts would hit everything from the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II to the Airbus Light Utility Helicopter and Boeing KC-46 tanker. In addition, the U.S. Army wouldn’t be able to acquire new Black Hawk helicopters and Stryker double-hull vehicles might also face cancellation.

Boeing KC46A Tanker [Image Source: Wikipedia]

Moving forward, the DoD will focus on research, development, test and evaluation (RDT&E), with an estimated $63 billion spent in 2014 alone. One of the business sectors of the RDT&E program, the Future Years Defense Plan, will see its budget continually drop – from $20 billion in 2009 down to $10 billion by 2018.

“There’s a difference between spending money and spending money smartly,” said James Hasik, Atlantic Council senior fellow. “There are folks out in the world who make the argument that you have to spread money around the world wildly, because money spent on research is just good because it just leads to development. This is not a compelling argument because there are dead ends against which you can continue to apply money and not get very far.”

DoD officials want to make sure basic research funding and early-stage development both receive funding through the red tape, though this will force other future military technology research onto the shelf.

Congress is evaluating another wave of Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) papers in 2017, giving the DoD the ability to close bases on an individual basis.